EP0044072A1 - Apparatus and method for controlling focus in a recording system - Google Patents
Apparatus and method for controlling focus in a recording system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0044072A1 EP0044072A1 EP81105480A EP81105480A EP0044072A1 EP 0044072 A1 EP0044072 A1 EP 0044072A1 EP 81105480 A EP81105480 A EP 81105480A EP 81105480 A EP81105480 A EP 81105480A EP 0044072 A1 EP0044072 A1 EP 0044072A1
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- signal
- duty cycle
- focus
- dither
- information
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- UUQHAAWMCLITRZ-KEOOTSPTSA-N 2-[(3S,6S,12S,20R,23S)-20-carbamoyl-12-[3-(diaminomethylideneamino)propyl]-3-(1H-indol-3-ylmethyl)-2,5,8,11,14,22-hexaoxo-17,18-dithia-1,4,7,10,13,21-hexazabicyclo[21.3.0]hexacosan-6-yl]acetic acid Chemical group N1C(=O)[C@H](CC(O)=O)NC(=O)CNC(=O)[C@H](CCCN=C(N)N)NC(=O)CCSSC[C@@H](C(N)=O)NC(=O)[C@@H]2CCCN2C(=O)[C@@H]1CC1=CNC2=CC=CC=C12 UUQHAAWMCLITRZ-KEOOTSPTSA-N 0.000 claims 1
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B7/00—Recording or reproducing by optical means, e.g. recording using a thermal beam of optical radiation by modifying optical properties or the physical structure, reproducing using an optical beam at lower power by sensing optical properties; Record carriers therefor
- G11B7/12—Heads, e.g. forming of the optical beam spot or modulation of the optical beam
- G11B7/125—Optical beam sources therefor, e.g. laser control circuitry specially adapted for optical storage devices; Modulators, e.g. means for controlling the size or intensity of optical spots or optical traces
- G11B7/126—Circuits, methods or arrangements for laser control or stabilisation
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B7/00—Recording or reproducing by optical means, e.g. recording using a thermal beam of optical radiation by modifying optical properties or the physical structure, reproducing using an optical beam at lower power by sensing optical properties; Record carriers therefor
- G11B7/004—Recording, reproducing or erasing methods; Read, write or erase circuits therefor
- G11B7/0045—Recording
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B7/00—Recording or reproducing by optical means, e.g. recording using a thermal beam of optical radiation by modifying optical properties or the physical structure, reproducing using an optical beam at lower power by sensing optical properties; Record carriers therefor
- G11B7/08—Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers
- G11B7/09—Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers with provision for moving the light beam or focus plane for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the light beam relative to the record carrier during transducing operation, e.g. to compensate for surface irregularities of the latter or for track following
- G11B7/0908—Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers with provision for moving the light beam or focus plane for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the light beam relative to the record carrier during transducing operation, e.g. to compensate for surface irregularities of the latter or for track following for focusing only
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B7/00—Recording or reproducing by optical means, e.g. recording using a thermal beam of optical radiation by modifying optical properties or the physical structure, reproducing using an optical beam at lower power by sensing optical properties; Record carriers therefor
- G11B7/08—Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers
- G11B7/09—Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers with provision for moving the light beam or focus plane for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the light beam relative to the record carrier during transducing operation, e.g. to compensate for surface irregularities of the latter or for track following
- G11B7/0908—Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers with provision for moving the light beam or focus plane for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the light beam relative to the record carrier during transducing operation, e.g. to compensate for surface irregularities of the latter or for track following for focusing only
- G11B7/0917—Focus-error methods other than those covered by G11B7/0909 - G11B7/0916
Definitions
- This invention relates generally to radiant beam focusing arrangements and, more particularly, to control systems in which a focusing lens is moved automatically to maintain a radiant beam accurately focused on a moving surface, such as a recording surface.
- a disc is rotated on a turntable, and is scanned by a light beam which is accurately focused by an objective lens onto an information track on the disc surface.
- a reflected beam of light returned from the information track is directed to a photocell detector, from which is derived a control signal for varying the position of the lens to maintain focus.
- information signals are also derived from the same detector, as are control signals for adjusting the position of the detector radially with respect to the information track on the disc.
- the information track in such a system is of the order of one micron wide. Accordingly, there is a requirement for accurately focusing the beam to a spot of about one micron in diameter on the video disc. It can be seen that slight variations in the distance between the objective lens and the disc surface can result in loss of recorded information, as well as in the introduction of undesirable frequency components into the resulting electrical signal.
- the information track on the disc comprises a relatively uniform sequence of pits or recesses formed in the disc surface by a laser beam.
- the disc surface On playback, the disc surface exhibits a different optical characteristic, such as reflectivity, as a reading beam traverses it, and a cyclicly varying carrier signal can be derived from the disc during playback.
- the carrier signal in one system is frequency modulated with an information signal derived from a video program source, or from some other information source.
- the laser beam that performs the information writing steps has to be appropriately focused and controlled in power to produce depressions and intervening lands on the disc surface such that the duty cycle associated with the recesses and lands is fifty percent.
- the recesses should by so spaced and dimensioned that the signal recovered from the disc will have a value that is above its average magnitude for fifty percent of the time, and below it average for fifty.percent of the time. Any other duty cycle results in the introduction of undesirable harmonic distortion of the recovered signal.
- the control of the focus of the writing beam is critical in achieving this goal. Whenever the beam is out of focus, in either direction, a wider writing beam is obtained, which may not have sufficient intensity to form a recess as large as is needed to maintain a fifty percent duty cycle.
- One way of controlling the focus in a recording system of this general type is to employ a separate reading laser beam directed onto the information track formed by the writing laser beam through the same focusing lens as the writing beam.
- the reading beam obtained from the newly formed information track is directed to a focus detector, from which will be derived an electrical signal indicative of the error in the focal position of the lens.
- This error signal is fed back to a lens driving motor to effect a correction of the focus position.
- this type of control system is not highly accurate, especially over long periods of time.
- periodic readjustment of the control system is required, to compensate for drifts in characteristics of the electrical components used, and in laser power output. Accordingly, prior to this invention there has been a significant need for a focusing control system that does not require periodic readjustment and is more precise than control systems of the prior art. The present invention satisfies this need.
- the present invention resides in apparatus, and a related method, for automatically focusing reading and writing beams in an optical recording system, such as a disc recording system.
- the apparatus of the invention includes beam focusing means movable with respect to a recording surface to focus one or more beams thereon, a first radiant energy source to provide a writing beam, a second radiant energy source to provide a reading beam, each of the beams being directed through the focusing means, and reading beam detection means for receiving a reflected reading beam from the recording surface.
- the apparatus of the invention further includes a dither oscillator coupled to move the focusing means in an oscillatory manner, duty cycle detection means coupled to the reading beam detection means to provide a measure of the duty cycle of the recorded and recovered signal, and means for generating a focus correction signal from the output of the duty cycle detection means and the dither oscillator.
- the effect of the dither oscillator is to vary the duty cycle at the dither frequency, if the beams are substantially out of focus.
- the phase of the variation in duty cycle will depend upon the sense or direction in which the beams are out of focus.
- the dither oscillator will produce an in-phase variation in duty cycle when the beams are out of focus in one direction and an out-of-phase variation in duty cycle when the beams are out of focus in the opposite direction.
- the dither oscillator will produce a variation in duty cycle at twice the dither frequency.
- the means for generating the focus correction signal includes a bandpass filter selected to pass only the dither frequency and twice the dither frequency, and a multiplier to multiply the filtered output from the duty cycle detection means and a phase-compensated form of the dither signal output from the dither oscillator.
- the resulting output from the multiplier is further processed by a low-pass filter, to derive the average value of the signal, the magnitude and polarity of which will provide a correction signal to be applied to the focusing means.
- the coarse adjustment means includes a focus detector, to provide an output indicative of focus error, and this output is fed back to the focusing means.
- the output of the duty cycle detection means is also coupled to the first radiant energy source, providing the writing beam, in such a manner that the power supplied to the source, which is a laser in one embodiment, is automatically adjusted to provide a fifty-percent duty cycle when the beam is in focus.
- the recording process will be constantly controlled to provide a fifty-percent duty cycle, regardless of the condition of various factors that tend to change the duty cycle. For example, in a disc recording system, portions of the information track located closer to the center of the disc are recorded at a lower recording speed than those at the periphery of the disc. Consequently, it is easier to form recesses in the disc surface near its center.
- the laser power threshold level above which formation of the recesses takes place is lower toward the center of the disc than toward the periphery. Controlling the power of the writing laser in accordance with the invention provides a fifty-percent duty cycle throughout the recording process, regardless of the speed of movement of the recording surface.
- the present invention represents a significant advance in the field of radiant beam recording systems.
- it provides a precise technique for automatically maintaining reading and writing beams in focus, as well as for maintaining the power of the writing beam at an optimum level.
- the present invention is principally concerned with the automatic control of focus in a recording system employing a radiant beam to record information on a recording surface.
- the invention is particularly well suited for use in a disc recording system employing laser beams both for writing information permanently on a recording surface on the disc and for subsequently reading the information back from the disc, or from a manufactured copy of the disc.
- Such recording systems are now commonly employed in the video disc recording art.
- a recording system of this general type includes a rotatable disc, indicated by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1, a writing laser 12, intensity modulator 14, a focusing lens 16, and a lens drive motor 18 coupled to the focusing lens in such a manner as to move it perpendicularly with respect to the recording surface of the disc.
- the writing laser 12 provides a laser beam to the intensity modulator 14, which modulates the laser power between its maximum level and zero, in accordance with a cyclic information-carrying signal provided on line 20 to the modulator.
- the intensity modulator 14 may include a Pockels cell or any other device for varying the intensity of the beam in accordance with the modulating signal on line 20.
- the modulating signal in the illustrative embodiment is a sinusoidal carrier signal of very high frequency, which may be frequency-modulated with an information signal to be recorded on the disc, such as a video information signal.
- the writing beam is reflected by a mirror 22 through the focusing lens 16 and onto the recording surface of the disc 10.
- an information track of the order of one micron in width is employed in a recording system of this general type.
- the control of focus of the writing beam is a critical element in the recording system.
- the writing beam forms pits or recesses along the information track by interaction with a surface material on the disc.
- the physical process by means of which the recesses are formed is not critical to the invention. There may, for example, be a controlled combustion of the surface material.
- the resultant information tracks exhibit a varying reflectivity, or other optical property, when scanned by a reading beam.
- the reading beam is generated by a reading laser 24, and is directed onto the disc 10 through a beam splitter, indicated at 26, and through the same focusing lens 16 that is employed by the writing beam. A portion of the reading portion of the reading beam is reflected from the disc surface back along the same path to the beam splitter 26, and thence to a focus detector 28.
- the focus detector 28 may be of any suitable type that provides an indication of the focus of the reading and writing beams on the disc, as well as a measure of the total power content of the reading beam reflected back from the disc.
- the focus detector 28 is of the split-diode type.
- the focus detector has two output lines 30 and 32, which are connected to the respective input terminals of a differential amplifier 34 and to the input terminals of a summing amplifier 36.
- the summing amplifier provides the recovered frequency-modulated output information signal as read from the disc after recording, and the output of the differential amplifier 34, on line 40, is fed back to the lens drive motor 18 to provide a coarse correction for errors in focus of the two beams.
- the servo loop including the focus detector 28, differential amplifier 34, lens driver 18 and lens 16 works satisfactorily to provide a coarse adjustment of focus on an automatic basis, it lacks the desired precision for high quality recording systems, and has the further disadvantage that manual adjustment is required to compensate for gradual drift in electrical characteristics of the components, and for mechanical tolerances of the control system elements.
- fine control of beam focus is obtained by use of a dither oscillator 50 and a duty cycle detector 52 to measure the effect of dither oscillations on the duty cycle of the recorded information, and to generate a focus correction signal for application to the lens drive motor 18.
- the dither oscillator 50 provides an oscillatory output of, for example, 30 hertz, over line 54 to a summing amplifier 56, where the dither signal is summed with the correction signal received over line 40 from differential amplifier 34, before application to the lens drive motor 18, over line 58.
- the output of the summing amplifier 36, on line 38, is connected to the duty cycle detector 52, which provides on output line 60 a signal indicative of the instantaneous duty cycle of the recorded signal as detected by the reading beam.
- the duty cycle is defined as the proportion of time that the signal is below its average value. It will be appreciated that the duty cycle could equally well be defined as the proportion of time that the signal is above its average value. The first definition, however, is consistent with the directions of other variables described herein. When the duty cycle is fifty percent, the signal is below its average value for 50 percent of the time and below its average value for the other 50 percent of the time.
- duty cycle detector 52 is not critical to the invention.
- the duty cycle signal on line 60 is input to a bandpass filter 61 and thence to a multiplier 62, the other input of which is provided on line 64 derived from the dither oscillator 50, through a phase compensation circuit 66.
- the multiplier 62 yields an output on line 68 indicative of focus error.
- This error signal is further processed by a low-pass filter 70, to remove dither and higher frequency components, and is transmitted over line 72 to the summing amplifier 56, for application to the lens drive motor 18.
- the duty cycle signal on line 60 is also transmitted to the writing laser 12, over line 74, to effect control of the power supplied to the writing laser.
- the duty cycle falls off, i.e., decreases from the in-focus duty cycle value of fifty percent.
- the reason for this is that, when the writing beam is out of focus, its intensity is diminished and it can no longer form recesses in the recording surface sufficiently large to provide a fifty percent duty cycle. Consequently; the duty cycle falls off as the beams are moved out of focus in either direction.
- FIG. 2a shows a typical dither signal provided from the dither oscillator 50 and applied to the lens driver 18 to oscillate the focusing lens 16 up and down about an average position.
- the terms “up” and “down” are intended to mean further away and closer, respectively, with respect to the disc, and not necessarily up and down in a gravitational sense.
- FIG. 2b indicates the effect of the dither signal on the duty cycle when the focusing lens is positioned much too high with respect to the proper focus position, i.e., the focus position is to the right of the origin point of FIG. 3. It will be seen that the curve to the right of the origin in FIG.
- the duty cycle detector output will be as shown in FIG. 2b, which it will be seen is 180 degrees out of phase with the original dither signal shown in FIG. 2a.
- the curve to the left of the origin in FIG. 3 has a positive slope, and that an upward movement of the focusing lens will result in an increase in the duty cycle. Accordingly, the effect of the dither signal when the focusing lens is substantially too low with respect to its in-focus position will be as shown in FIG. 2c, i.e., the variation in duty cycle will be exactly in phase with the dither signal. At the focus point, a dither signal will result in a double-frequency oscillation of the duty cycle, as shown in FIG. 2d, since movement of the focusing lens either up or down from the focus point will result in a decrease in the duty cycle.
- FIGS. 2b-2d When the signals shown in FIGS. 2b-2d are bandpass filtered in the filter 61, in which the steady-state or slowly varying components of the duty cycle signal are eliminated, and only the oscillatory components remain, specifically those components having the dither cycle frequency and twice the dither cycle frequency.
- the oscillatory signals are then multiplied by the dither signal in the multiplier 62, which yields the respective signals shown in FIGS. 2e-2g.
- FIG. 2e has a negative average value
- FIG. 2f has a positive average value
- FIG. 2g has a zero average value, the latter being indicative of a perfect focus condition.
- the output of the multiplier 62 is appropriately filtered in the low-pass filter 70, to obtain the average value indicative of an error or correction signal to be applied to the lens drive motor 18.
- the output of the duty cycle detector 52 may also be used to provide a dc bias signal on line 74 to the writing laser 12.
- the duty cycle in the recording track will be higher than fifty percent when the beams are in focus. This is indicated by the broken line 78.
- the broken line 80 indicates a typical constant power curve with a power lower than the optimum, in which case the duty cycle will be lower than fifty percent when the beams are in focus.
- a dc bias of one polarity will be applied to the laser 12 and will have the effect of reducing the maximum laser power by an amount proportional to the departure of the duty cycle from the desired fifty percent level.
- a dc bias of opposite polarity will be applied to the laser 12, to increase its maximum power accordingly.
- the writing laser 12 is so adjusted that a zero dc bias signal on line 74 will result in an optimum laser power just sufficient to provide fifty percent duty cycle.
- the output of the duty cycle detector 52 need not be applied directly to the bandpass filter 6, but indirectly, through the writing laser over line 74, as shown.
- a photodetector (not shown) used in conjunction with the writing laser 12, could then be employed to provide an output signal to the bandpass filter 63, and thence to the multiplier 62.
- the present invention provides a novel technique for automatically focusing a light beam on a recording surface during a recording process, by detecting the duty cycle of a recovered oscillatory recorded signal and comparing it with a signal generated by a dither oscillator connected to move the focusing lens of the system.
- Use of this control system in combination with a conventional focus detector to provide coarse control of the focus results in an overall control system that is more precise than any previously available, and is not subject to drift in the performance characteristics of its components.
- the use of this focus control system in combination with a laser power control system further enhances the recording system in which it is used.
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Abstract
Description
- This invention relates generally to radiant beam focusing arrangements and, more particularly, to control systems in which a focusing lens is moved automatically to maintain a radiant beam accurately focused on a moving surface, such as a recording surface.
- There are a number of known techniques for positioning a lens automatically in response to signals generated by a photosensitive detector indicating focus errors. For example, in one type of video playback device, a disc is rotated on a turntable, and is scanned by a light beam which is accurately focused by an objective lens onto an information track on the disc surface. A reflected beam of light returned from the information track is directed to a photocell detector, from which is derived a control signal for varying the position of the lens to maintain focus. In most cases, information signals are also derived from the same detector, as are control signals for adjusting the position of the detector radially with respect to the information track on the disc.
- Typically, the information track in such a system is of the order of one micron wide. Accordingly, there is a requirement for accurately focusing the beam to a spot of about one micron in diameter on the video disc. It can be seen that slight variations in the distance between the objective lens and the disc surface can result in loss of recorded information, as well as in the introduction of undesirable frequency components into the resulting electrical signal.
- The problem of focus control is even more critical in video disc recording systems. In one type of system, the information track on the disc comprises a relatively uniform sequence of pits or recesses formed in the disc surface by a laser beam. On playback, the disc surface exhibits a different optical characteristic, such as reflectivity, as a reading beam traverses it, and a cyclicly varying carrier signal can be derived from the disc during playback. The carrier signal in one system is frequency modulated with an information signal derived from a video program source, or from some other information source. Ideally, the laser beam that performs the information writing steps has to be appropriately focused and controlled in power to produce depressions and intervening lands on the disc surface such that the duty cycle associated with the recesses and lands is fifty percent. More specifically, the recesses should by so spaced and dimensioned that the signal recovered from the disc will have a value that is above its average magnitude for fifty percent of the time, and below it average for fifty.percent of the time. Any other duty cycle results in the introduction of undesirable harmonic distortion of the recovered signal. Clearly, the control of the focus of the writing beam is critical in achieving this goal. Whenever the beam is out of focus, in either direction, a wider writing beam is obtained, which may not have sufficient intensity to form a recess as large as is needed to maintain a fifty percent duty cycle.
- One way of controlling the focus in a recording system of this general type is to employ a separate reading laser beam directed onto the information track formed by the writing laser beam through the same focusing lens as the writing beam. The reading beam obtained from the newly formed information track is directed to a focus detector, from which will be derived an electrical signal indicative of the error in the focal position of the lens. This error signal is fed back to a lens driving motor to effect a correction of the focus position. Although satisfactory for some applications, this type of control system is not highly accurate, especially over long periods of time. Typically, periodic readjustment of the control system is required, to compensate for drifts in characteristics of the electrical components used, and in laser power output. Accordingly, prior to this invention there has been a significant need for a focusing control system that does not require periodic readjustment and is more precise than control systems of the prior art. The present invention satisfies this need.
- The present invention resides in apparatus, and a related method, for automatically focusing reading and writing beams in an optical recording system, such as a disc recording system. In common with other recording systems of the same general type, the apparatus of the invention includes beam focusing means movable with respect to a recording surface to focus one or more beams thereon, a first radiant energy source to provide a writing beam, a second radiant energy source to provide a reading beam, each of the beams being directed through the focusing means, and reading beam detection means for receiving a reflected reading beam from the recording surface.
- Briefly, and in general terms, the apparatus of the invention further includes a dither oscillator coupled to move the focusing means in an oscillatory manner, duty cycle detection means coupled to the reading beam detection means to provide a measure of the duty cycle of the recorded and recovered signal, and means for generating a focus correction signal from the output of the duty cycle detection means and the dither oscillator. The effect of the dither oscillator is to vary the duty cycle at the dither frequency, if the beams are substantially out of focus. Moreover, the phase of the variation in duty cycle will depend upon the sense or direction in which the beams are out of focus. More specifically, the dither oscillator will produce an in-phase variation in duty cycle when the beams are out of focus in one direction and an out-of-phase variation in duty cycle when the beams are out of focus in the opposite direction. When both beams are essentially in focus, the dither oscillator will produce a variation in duty cycle at twice the dither frequency.
- More specifically, the means for generating the focus correction signal includes a bandpass filter selected to pass only the dither frequency and twice the dither frequency, and a multiplier to multiply the filtered output from the duty cycle detection means and a phase-compensated form of the dither signal output from the dither oscillator. The resulting output from the multiplier is further processed by a low-pass filter, to derive the average value of the signal, the magnitude and polarity of which will provide a correction signal to be applied to the focusing means.
- Since the concept of focus control by duty cycle detection can be employed only when a recording signal is being recorded at some duty cycle greater than zero and less than one hundred percent, means must also be provided for a coarse adjustment of focus, to ensure that duty cycle detection will operate successfully as a fine adjustment means. The coarse adjustment means includes a focus detector, to provide an output indicative of focus error, and this output is fed back to the focusing means.
- In another aspect of the present invention, the output of the duty cycle detection means is also coupled to the first radiant energy source, providing the writing beam, in such a manner that the power supplied to the source, which is a laser in one embodiment, is automatically adjusted to provide a fifty-percent duty cycle when the beam is in focus. In this manner, the recording process will be constantly controlled to provide a fifty-percent duty cycle, regardless of the condition of various factors that tend to change the duty cycle. For example, in a disc recording system, portions of the information track located closer to the center of the disc are recorded at a lower recording speed than those at the periphery of the disc. Consequently, it is easier to form recesses in the disc surface near its center. Stated another way, the laser power threshold level above which formation of the recesses takes place is lower toward the center of the disc than toward the periphery. Controlling the power of the writing laser in acordance with the invention provides a fifty-percent duty cycle throughout the recording process, regardless of the speed of movement of the recording surface.
- It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present invention represents a significant advance in the field of radiant beam recording systems. In particular, it provides a precise technique for automatically maintaining reading and writing beams in focus, as well as for maintaining the power of the writing beam at an optimum level. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
- FIGURE 1 is a simplified schematic and block diagram of a recording system embodying the present invention;
- FIGS. 2a-2g are timing diagrams illustrating the waveforms of electrical signals obtained at various points in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1; and
- FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of the variation of duty cycle with beam focus at constant laser power.
- As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the present invention is principally concerned with the automatic control of focus in a recording system employing a radiant beam to record information on a recording surface. The invention is particularly well suited for use in a disc recording system employing laser beams both for writing information permanently on a recording surface on the disc and for subsequently reading the information back from the disc, or from a manufactured copy of the disc. Such recording systems are now commonly employed in the video disc recording art.
- A recording system of this general type includes a rotatable disc, indicated by
reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1, awriting laser 12, intensity modulator 14, a focusing lens 16, and a lens drive motor 18 coupled to the focusing lens in such a manner as to move it perpendicularly with respect to the recording surface of the disc. Thewriting laser 12 provides a laser beam to the intensity modulator 14, which modulates the laser power between its maximum level and zero, in accordance with a cyclic information-carrying signal provided on line 20 to the modulator. The intensity modulator 14 may include a Pockels cell or any other device for varying the intensity of the beam in accordance with the modulating signal on line 20. - The modulating signal in the illustrative embodiment is a sinusoidal carrier signal of very high frequency, which may be frequency-modulated with an information signal to be recorded on the disc, such as a video information signal. After modulation in the intensity modulator, the writing beam is reflected by a mirror 22 through the focusing lens 16 and onto the recording surface of the
disc 10. Typically, an information track of the order of one micron in width is employed in a recording system of this general type. Accordingly, the control of focus of the writing beam is a critical element in the recording system. The writing beam forms pits or recesses along the information track by interaction with a surface material on the disc. The physical process by means of which the recesses are formed is not critical to the invention. There may, for example, be a controlled combustion of the surface material. In any event, the resultant information tracks exhibit a varying reflectivity, or other optical property, when scanned by a reading beam. - The reading beam is generated by a
reading laser 24, and is directed onto thedisc 10 through a beam splitter, indicated at 26, and through the same focusing lens 16 that is employed by the writing beam. A portion of the reading portion of the reading beam is reflected from the disc surface back along the same path to thebeam splitter 26, and thence to afocus detector 28. Thefocus detector 28 may be of any suitable type that provides an indication of the focus of the reading and writing beams on the disc, as well as a measure of the total power content of the reading beam reflected back from the disc. Preferably, thefocus detector 28 is of the split-diode type. - The focus detector has two
output lines differential amplifier 34 and to the input terminals of a summingamplifier 36. The summing amplifier provides the recovered frequency-modulated output information signal as read from the disc after recording, and the output of thedifferential amplifier 34, on line 40, is fed back to the lens drive motor 18 to provide a coarse correction for errors in focus of the two beams. Although the servo loop including thefocus detector 28,differential amplifier 34, lens driver 18 and lens 16, works satisfactorily to provide a coarse adjustment of focus on an automatic basis, it lacks the desired precision for high quality recording systems, and has the further disadvantage that manual adjustment is required to compensate for gradual drift in electrical characteristics of the components, and for mechanical tolerances of the control system elements. - In accordance with the invention, fine control of beam focus is obtained by use of a
dither oscillator 50 and aduty cycle detector 52 to measure the effect of dither oscillations on the duty cycle of the recorded information, and to generate a focus correction signal for application to the lens drive motor 18. More specifically, thedither oscillator 50 provides an oscillatory output of, for example, 30 hertz, overline 54 to a summingamplifier 56, where the dither signal is summed with the correction signal received over line 40 fromdifferential amplifier 34, before application to the lens drive motor 18, over line 58. - The output of the summing
amplifier 36, on line 38, is connected to theduty cycle detector 52, which provides on output line 60 a signal indicative of the instantaneous duty cycle of the recorded signal as detected by the reading beam. The duty cycle is defined as the proportion of time that the signal is below its average value. It will be appreciated that the duty cycle could equally well be defined as the proportion of time that the signal is above its average value. The first definition, however, is consistent with the directions of other variables described herein. When the duty cycle is fifty percent, the signal is below its average value for 50 percent of the time and below its average value for the other 50 percent of the time. - The detailed design of the
duty cycle detector 52 is not critical to the invention. - The duty cycle signal on
line 60 is input to abandpass filter 61 and thence to a multiplier 62, the other input of which is provided online 64 derived from thedither oscillator 50, through aphase compensation circuit 66. As will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 2a-2g, the multiplier 62 yields an output online 68 indicative of focus error. This error signal is further processed by a low-pass filter 70, to remove dither and higher frequency components, and is transmitted overline 72 to the summingamplifier 56, for application to the lens drive motor 18. As will also be further discussed below, the duty cycle signal online 60 is also transmitted to the writinglaser 12, overline 74, to effect control of the power supplied to the writing laser. - To appreciate how the control system of the invention operates, it is first necessary to examine the relationship between duty cycle and focus, as illustrated graphically in FIG. 3. Focus is plotted along the horizontal or x axis in FIG. 3, and the desired in-focus condition is represented by the zero point along the x axis, while non-zero x ordinates represent conditions under which the focusing lens 16 is displaced perpendicularly with respect to the surface of the
disc 10. The duty cycle is plotted along the vertical or γ- axis in FIG. 3, and the origin is shown as being at a fifty percent duty cycle. The curve plotted as a solid line 76 represents the relationship between duty cycle and focus for a constant maximum power applied to the writing laser. For purposes of discussion of the focusing system, it should be noted that when the focusing lens 16 moves away from the desired focus point in either direction, the duty cycle falls off, i.e., decreases from the in-focus duty cycle value of fifty percent. The reason for this is that, when the writing beam is out of focus, its intensity is diminished and it can no longer form recesses in the recording surface sufficiently large to provide a fifty percent duty cycle. Consequently; the duty cycle falls off as the beams are moved out of focus in either direction. - FIG. 2a shows a typical dither signal provided from the
dither oscillator 50 and applied to the lens driver 18 to oscillate the focusing lens 16 up and down about an average position. In this regard, it should be noted that the terms "up" and "down" are intended to mean further away and closer, respectively, with respect to the disc, and not necessarily up and down in a gravitational sense. FIG. 2b indicates the effect of the dither signal on the duty cycle when the focusing lens is positioned much too high with respect to the proper focus position, i.e., the focus position is to the right of the origin point of FIG. 3. It will be seen that the curve to the right of the origin in FIG. 3 has a negative slope, and that an upward movement of the focusing lens will result in a decrease in the duty cycle. Accordingly, the duty cycle detector output will be as shown in FIG. 2b, which it will be seen is 180 degrees out of phase with the original dither signal shown in FIG. 2a. - Likewise, it will be appreciated that the curve to the left of the origin in FIG. 3 has a positive slope, and that an upward movement of the focusing lens will result in an increase in the duty cycle. Accordingly, the effect of the dither signal when the focusing lens is substantially too low with respect to its in-focus position will be as shown in FIG. 2c, i.e., the variation in duty cycle will be exactly in phase with the dither signal. At the focus point, a dither signal will result in a double-frequency oscillation of the duty cycle, as shown in FIG. 2d, since movement of the focusing lens either up or down from the focus point will result in a decrease in the duty cycle.
- When the signals shown in FIGS. 2b-2d are bandpass filtered in the
filter 61, in which the steady-state or slowly varying components of the duty cycle signal are eliminated, and only the oscillatory components remain, specifically those components having the dither cycle frequency and twice the dither cycle frequency. The oscillatory signals are then multiplied by the dither signal in the multiplier 62, which yields the respective signals shown in FIGS. 2e-2g. It will be seen that FIG. 2e has a negative average value, FIG. 2f has a positive average value and FIG. 2g has a zero average value, the latter being indicative of a perfect focus condition. The output of the multiplier 62 is appropriately filtered in the low-pass filter 70, to obtain the average value indicative of an error or correction signal to be applied to the lens drive motor 18. - As shown in FIG. 1, the output of the
duty cycle detector 52 may also be used to provide a dc bias signal online 74 to the writinglaser 12. It will be seen from FIG. 3 that, for a constant laser power higher than the optimum power indicated by curve 76, the duty cycle in the recording track will be higher than fifty percent when the beams are in focus. This is indicated by the broken line 78. Similarly, the broken line 80 indicates a typical constant power curve with a power lower than the optimum, in which case the duty cycle will be lower than fifty percent when the beams are in focus. In order to provide an output that is as free as possible of harmonic distortion, it is desirable to have the recording track formed at a fifty-percent duty cycle. The control loop including the duty cycle detector and feedback circuit overline 74 to the writinglaser 12, effectively accomplishes this end. When the duty cycle exceeds fifty percent because of a too high power setting, a dc bias of one polarity will be applied to thelaser 12 and will have the effect of reducing the maximum laser power by an amount proportional to the departure of the duty cycle from the desired fifty percent level. In similar fashion, if the duty cycle falls below fifty percent, a dc bias of opposite polarity will be applied to thelaser 12, to increase its maximum power accordingly. The writinglaser 12 is so adjusted that a zero dc bias signal online 74 will result in an optimum laser power just sufficient to provide fifty percent duty cycle. - As an alternative to the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1, the output of the
duty cycle detector 52 need not be applied directly to the bandpass filter 6, but indirectly, through the writing laser overline 74, as shown. A photodetector (not shown) used in conjunction with the writinglaser 12, could then be employed to provide an output signal to the bandpass filter 63, and thence to the multiplier 62. - It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present invention provides a novel technique for automatically focusing a light beam on a recording surface during a recording process, by detecting the duty cycle of a recovered oscillatory recorded signal and comparing it with a signal generated by a dither oscillator connected to move the focusing lens of the system. Use of this control system in combination with a conventional focus detector to provide coarse control of the focus, results in an overall control system that is more precise than any previously available, and is not subject to drift in the performance characteristics of its components. Moreover, the use of this focus control system in combination with a laser power control system further enhances the recording system in which it is used. Not only is the focus of the recording beam accurately controlled, but the power of the recording beam is also controlled to an optimum fifty-percent duty cycle level. It will also be appreciated that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
Claims (16)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AT81105480T ATE9861T1 (en) | 1980-07-14 | 1981-07-13 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING FOCUS IN A RECORDING SYSTEM. |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US167941 | 1980-07-14 | ||
US06/167,941 US4358774A (en) | 1980-07-14 | 1980-07-14 | Apparatus and method for controlling focus in a recording system |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0044072A1 true EP0044072A1 (en) | 1982-01-20 |
EP0044072B1 EP0044072B1 (en) | 1984-10-10 |
Family
ID=22609449
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP81105480A Expired EP0044072B1 (en) | 1980-07-14 | 1981-07-13 | Apparatus and method for controlling focus in a recording system |
Country Status (10)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US4358774A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0044072B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPS5730129A (en) |
AT (1) | ATE9861T1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU539974B2 (en) |
BR (1) | BR8104448A (en) |
CA (1) | CA1155219A (en) |
DE (1) | DE3166595D1 (en) |
HK (1) | HK50886A (en) |
MY (1) | MY8700153A (en) |
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EP0095852A1 (en) * | 1982-05-19 | 1983-12-07 | BURROUGHS CORPORATION (a Michigan corporation) | Focusing control circuitry for an optical memory system |
EP0116204A1 (en) * | 1982-12-23 | 1984-08-22 | Xerox Corporation | Servo system for an optical memory |
FR2546325A1 (en) * | 1983-05-20 | 1984-11-23 | Thomson Csf | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CALIBRATING THE OPTICAL POWER APPLIED TO AN OPTICAL DISC FOR DATA RECORDING |
EP0213623A2 (en) * | 1985-09-02 | 1987-03-11 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Optical disc recording and reproducing apparatus |
EP0313744A1 (en) * | 1987-09-30 | 1989-05-03 | Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH | Focusing method for an optical reading device |
EP0430649A2 (en) * | 1989-11-30 | 1991-06-05 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Optical disk apparatus operative with optimal recording power setting |
EP0446284A1 (en) * | 1988-12-02 | 1991-09-18 | Drexler Tech | Dithering optical data logger. |
EP0453161A2 (en) * | 1990-04-10 | 1991-10-23 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Optical recording apparatus |
US5493549A (en) * | 1990-04-10 | 1996-02-20 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Optical recording regeneration apparatus with compensation circuit |
Families Citing this family (38)
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JPS57189348A (en) * | 1981-05-14 | 1982-11-20 | Olympus Optical Co Ltd | Auto-focus system of optical disk |
US4459690A (en) * | 1981-07-30 | 1984-07-10 | Rca Corporation | Multi-beam optical record and playback apparatus having an improved beam splitter |
US4677605A (en) * | 1984-07-06 | 1987-06-30 | Storage Technology Partners Ii | Focus acquisition and maintenance for optical disk system |
US4613876A (en) * | 1984-11-28 | 1986-09-23 | Ncr Corporation | Laser recording system |
US4949329A (en) * | 1985-05-21 | 1990-08-14 | Hoechst Celanese Corp. | Method of effecting erasure of optical information media including varying duty cycle, laser power and focus offset |
JPH0668581B2 (en) * | 1985-10-08 | 1994-08-31 | 東芝機械株式会社 | Focus position adjusting device for laser drawing device |
JP2764960B2 (en) * | 1988-11-16 | 1998-06-11 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Recording / playback method |
US5978329A (en) * | 1995-06-07 | 1999-11-02 | Discovision Associates | Technique for closed loop servo operation in optical disc tracking control |
US6215118B1 (en) * | 1995-11-02 | 2001-04-10 | Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Autoalignment and autofocus mechanism for coupling light between an optical fiber and a physical specimen |
CN1077715C (en) * | 1995-12-06 | 2002-01-09 | 迪维安公司 | Apparatus and method for focus control |
US5689485A (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 1997-11-18 | Discovision Associates | Tracking control apparatus and method |
US5754515A (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 1998-05-19 | International Business Machines Corporation | Active alignment method for multilayer optical disk storage |
US5757743A (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 1998-05-26 | International Business Machines Corporation | Electric circuit for providing a position indicator signal in a system for multilayer optical disk storage |
US5684782A (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 1997-11-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | Use of a laser light source as a detector via a dithering modulation |
US5793718A (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 1998-08-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | Active tracking system for optical disk storage |
US6128267A (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 2000-10-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Active tracking method for optical disk storage |
US5740145A (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 1998-04-14 | International Business Machines Corporation | Active focus alignment system for multilayer optical disk storage based on dither frequency doubling |
US6118740A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-09-12 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, a method for writing closely spaced information tracks |
US6049512A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-04-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | In a system for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for two-sided writing |
US6128262A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-10-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, a method for customizing said media with timing information |
US6081487A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-06-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for controlling laser positioning |
US6088308A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-07-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, a tracking circuit for providing positioning information |
US5892739A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 1999-04-06 | International Business Machines Corporation | In system for creating reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for multilayer source positioning using the laser source as a detector |
US6097681A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-08-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for determining angular position, θ |
US6046970A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-04-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable storage media, an apparatus for determining laser aging characteristics |
US6097677A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-08-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, a method for combined writing and reading operations |
US6111830A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-08-29 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for determining linear and/or angular velocity |
US6108282A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-08-22 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for multilayer laser source positioning |
US6222813B1 (en) | 1998-02-13 | 2001-04-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for controlling vertical laser alignment |
US6232045B1 (en) | 1998-02-13 | 2001-05-15 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, a method for producing a recording blank |
US6088306A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-07-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for combined writing and reading operations |
US5872723A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 1999-02-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | In a system for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media an apparatus for determining drive mechanism aging characteristics |
US6034929A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-03-07 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, a method for multi-layer laser source positioning |
US6088309A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-07-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, a method for controlling vertical laser alignment |
US6081489A (en) * | 1998-02-13 | 2000-06-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for creating, reading and writing on rotatable information storage media, an apparatus for performing both read and write operations |
DE60021960T2 (en) * | 1999-06-25 | 2006-03-23 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon | Method for compensation of inclination and / or defocusing, and device for the same |
TWI240919B (en) * | 2003-07-04 | 2005-10-01 | Mediatek Inc | Write signals control circuit in a disk drive |
JPWO2010134151A1 (en) * | 2009-05-18 | 2012-11-08 | パイオニア株式会社 | Information recording apparatus, information recording method, and computer program |
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-
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- 1981-04-16 CA CA000375671A patent/CA1155219A/en not_active Expired
- 1981-05-14 AU AU70573/81A patent/AU539974B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1981-05-20 JP JP7508181A patent/JPS5730129A/en active Granted
- 1981-07-13 EP EP81105480A patent/EP0044072B1/en not_active Expired
- 1981-07-13 DE DE8181105480T patent/DE3166595D1/en not_active Expired
- 1981-07-13 AT AT81105480T patent/ATE9861T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1981-07-13 BR BR8104448A patent/BR8104448A/en unknown
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DE2504570A1 (en) * | 1974-02-04 | 1975-08-28 | Thomson Brandt | OPTICAL READER |
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Cited By (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0095852A1 (en) * | 1982-05-19 | 1983-12-07 | BURROUGHS CORPORATION (a Michigan corporation) | Focusing control circuitry for an optical memory system |
EP0116204A1 (en) * | 1982-12-23 | 1984-08-22 | Xerox Corporation | Servo system for an optical memory |
US4538257A (en) * | 1982-12-23 | 1985-08-27 | Xerox Corporation | Adaptively stabilized recording for direct read after write optical memories |
FR2546325A1 (en) * | 1983-05-20 | 1984-11-23 | Thomson Csf | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CALIBRATING THE OPTICAL POWER APPLIED TO AN OPTICAL DISC FOR DATA RECORDING |
EP0126682A1 (en) * | 1983-05-20 | 1984-11-28 | Thomson-Csf | Method and apparatus for calibrating the optical power applied to an optical disc for data recording |
US4631713A (en) * | 1983-05-20 | 1986-12-23 | Thomson-Csf | Calibration device of the optical power applied to an optical disc for recording of data |
EP0213623A3 (en) * | 1985-09-02 | 1989-06-14 | Sharp Corporation | Optical disc record reproducing apparatus |
EP0213623A2 (en) * | 1985-09-02 | 1987-03-11 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Optical disc recording and reproducing apparatus |
EP0313744A1 (en) * | 1987-09-30 | 1989-05-03 | Deutsche Thomson-Brandt GmbH | Focusing method for an optical reading device |
EP0446284A1 (en) * | 1988-12-02 | 1991-09-18 | Drexler Tech | Dithering optical data logger. |
EP0446284A4 (en) * | 1988-12-02 | 1992-03-11 | Drexler Technology Corporation | Dithering optical data logger |
EP0430649A2 (en) * | 1989-11-30 | 1991-06-05 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Optical disk apparatus operative with optimal recording power setting |
EP0430649A3 (en) * | 1989-11-30 | 1991-11-06 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd | Optical disk apparatus operative with optimal recording power setting |
US5140580A (en) * | 1989-11-30 | 1992-08-18 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Optical disk apparatus operative with optimal recording power setting |
EP0453161A2 (en) * | 1990-04-10 | 1991-10-23 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Optical recording apparatus |
EP0453161A3 (en) * | 1990-04-10 | 1992-07-08 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Optical recording apparatus |
US5493549A (en) * | 1990-04-10 | 1996-02-20 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Optical recording regeneration apparatus with compensation circuit |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE3166595D1 (en) | 1984-11-15 |
JPS6232526B2 (en) | 1987-07-15 |
US4358774A (en) | 1982-11-09 |
JPS5730129A (en) | 1982-02-18 |
BR8104448A (en) | 1982-03-30 |
ATE9861T1 (en) | 1984-10-15 |
HK50886A (en) | 1986-07-11 |
AU7057381A (en) | 1982-01-21 |
CA1155219A (en) | 1983-10-11 |
MY8700153A (en) | 1987-12-31 |
AU539974B2 (en) | 1984-10-25 |
EP0044072B1 (en) | 1984-10-10 |
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